Week 12: Climate Change

 

 Week 12: Climate Change

Learning in Lab:

This week in lab we started learning about climate and weather and how that is impacting our Earth. We started by discussing the documentary we watched, "Before the Flood." This was an interesting documentary since it covers many aspects of the world that are contributing to climate change and why there needs to be an adjustment in our everyday lives to save the Earth. Then, we looked at NASA images of how different parts of the world have been affected by fossil fuels, flooding, natural disasters, etc. I looked at how the durecho impacted crops in Iowa, the images were astonishing at how many crops across the state were affected that year. We then moved onto looking at precipitation fluctuations across the state of Iowa from the 1890's until now. We looked at the Southeast region of Iowa and found a 5.8% increase in precipitation over the past couple centuries. Finally, we researched how the change in temperature and rainfall has impacted our state bird, the Goldfinch. As of right now, the Goldfinch is not endangered, however, the rises of temperatures can decrease their food supply and heavy rainfall may flood their nests and ruin their habitats. 

Inquiry about "Before the Flood"

Learning in Lecture:

We had an exam during lecture this week.

Changes in Precipitation in the Southeast Region

Textbook Connections:

1. What did you learn?
This week we watched the documentary, "Before the Flood" directed by Leonardo DiCaprio that discusses the severe threat of climate change. Throughout the documentary, DiCaprio travels throughout 5 continents and the Arctic to see how climate change is affecting the world right before our eyes. In the Arctic, one native explained that the ice used to be a deep blue color and was very hard to melt. However, due to the implications of climate change, the ice is now a "ice cream" color and is very easy to melt. They also discovered the mass deforestation of Indonesia to extract palm oil from the lands natural resources. Palm oil is used in products we consume daily such as Doritos, Quaker Oats, and PepsiCo products. Deforestation forces the animals of the forest to find a new home and a massive influx of Carbon Dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Another interesting part is how politicians and special interest groups are persuading Americans and people throughout the world that climate change is either not real or not an immediate threat. I learned a lot throughout this video and how the practices I engage with daily have an effect on the environment throughout the world. I am interested to learn more about climate science throughout this unit. 

2. What was most helpful?
I think this documentary was a helpful resource that opened my eyes to the immediate threat of climate change. I knew that fossil fuels and the release of Carbon Dioxide was a major contributor, but I did not understand how consumptions of everyday products or farming have an impact on the world's climate as well. 

3. What do you need more information on?
I would like more information about the political and special interest groups that are persuading Americans into believing that climate change is not real and that this is not an issue that we should be concerned about until later down the road. 

4. What questions, concerns, or comments to do you have? 
How can we change our daily practices to help decrease the amount of change we place on the climate to make and actual impact? 


Graph of Changes in Precipitation

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